To Our Dearest Friends of
Veterinary Regional Referral Hospital:
It has been my privilege to serve our community for the past 41 years and it has been an incredible joy and one we are honored to have experienced. Over the years, we have met thousands of wonderful clients and have helped their pets live the quality of life they deserve. Time and again, you have chosen us to help navigate those uncertain times when your best friend was sick, injured, or hurting. We have celebrated your precious friend’s recovery who went on to live many more years by your side. We have cried and grieved with you when it was time to say goodbye.
Meet the Doctors
Dr. Courtnay Beckett
DVM
Dr. Michael Newman
DVM, MS
Dr. Courtnay Beckett
DVM
Dr. Courtnay Beckett, D.V.M. grew up in Maysville, GA on a farm consisting of many different species of animals. These animals ranged from horses and cows to pigs and chickens, dogs, cats, and rabbits. This is where her love and desire to become a veterinarian began. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from the University of Georgia and then continued to pursue her veterinary degree from the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine where she graduated in 2018. Her professional interests include emergency medicine, critical care, and soft tissue surgery.
Fall 2021
To Our Dearest Friends of Veterinary Regional Referral Hospital:
It has been my privilege to serve our community for the past 41 years and it has been an incredible joy and one we are honored to have experienced. Over the years, we have met thousands of wonderful clients and have helped their pets live the quality of life they deserve. Time and again, you have chosen us to help navigate those uncertain times when your best friend was sick, injured, or hurting. We have celebrated your precious friend’s recovery who went on to live many more years by your side. We have cried and grieved with you when it was time to say goodbye.
Sadly, up to 90% of veterinary patients presented with severe medical issues are either euthanized or incompletely treated due to financial constraints. Research that could greatly benefit the veterinary field does not occur often in veterinary settings. There is a wealth of biomedical knowledge available in naturally occurring diseases that affect our pets. Further tests are necessary to obtain that knowledge and thus improve our medical care. Because of these steep medical costs and depths of undiscovered knowledge, I am inspired to pursue research that will help not only our pets, but people as well.
There are many examples in human medicine of successful research hospitals that provide free treatment for patients with qualifying illnesses. The biomedical knowledge discovered through these endeavors has ensured that many conditions previously thought untreatable are now not only manageable, but curable. Through this research, treatment protocol has become less invasive and more effective, providing physical and financial benefit to us all. Because patient treatments and research are not charged to the patients, these hospitals rely on the generous support of the public. Because you have shared your compassion for the health and wellness for animals, I want to invite you to be part of this extraordinarily new and exciting endeavor.
We are establishing the Newman Veterinary Research Hospital (NVRH), in Decatur, Alabama, a non-profit 501(c)3 facility, providing intensive care for patients with specific disease criteria. The hospital will provide: emergency and intensive care, oncology, surgery, internal medicine, imaging, and clinical and anatomic pathology. We will expand this research into all areas of veterinary medicine and utilize diagnostic equipment currently used in human hospitals. Veterinary medical teams will work in partnership with human medical teams to develop new treatments and improve care for our pets. A veterinary research facility would provide substantial and critical amounts of information concerning animal cancer which would benefit treatment of human cancer also. These treatments can then be utilized in human medicine as well. Routine fees for veterinary care will be required, but the purpose of the hospital is to fully investigate and discover both genetic and environmental causes for a multitude of diseases.
This change will not affect the care available at our practice. While our name may change, our priorities have not. You can be sure that we will continue to treat your pets with the utmost care and dedication. Our purpose is to expand the scope of our practice to include research, we will be able to provide even more effective care than ever before. However, this extraordinary concept cannot be realized without financial support from passionate, caring people like you.
My motto is, “Every doctor should respect and learn from all life to better help any life.” With veterinarians and medical doctors working together at NVRH, we can discover ways to help ALL life. This is a tremendous undertaking and the first of its kind in the United States. Private companies cannot directly fund such endeavors. Universities have indicated that they do not have the funds or the desire to pursue this opportunity. Similar to St. Jude, it will have to be funded primarily by me and you. Corporate participation can be expected once public interest is shown.
This Research Hospital cannot function in the manner planned until the facility is built, it contains all the necessary functioning equipment and is fully staffed with the best clinical doctors, research doctors, nursing staff, pathologists, etc. For it to be successful, we need YOU! With your support and generosity, the Tennessee Valley will be home to the only clinical veterinary research hospital of its kind, developing groundbreaking research that may someday help your pet and even yourself and your loved ones.
Please take a look at the attached levels of support that best fits your interests. Together, we can embark on a project that will be life-changing for animals and mankind! All donations will help discover cures, medical procedures and protocols. Thank you in advance for your consideration in joining me in this exciting endeavor!
With Much Appreciation and Gratitude,
Michael E. Newman, DVM, MS
Dr. Michael Newman
DVM, MS
Dr. Newman’s professional career began in January 1986 when he established Alabama Veterinary Surgery in Birmingham, AL. It was the first private surgical referral practice in Alabama and one of five in the southeastern United States at the time. He built that practice over the following eight years and assisted in establishing a new veterinary emergency service in 1992.
In 1994 the practice was moved to Decatur, Alabama and expanded to a larger facility in 2006. At that time the hospital’s name was changed to Veterinary Regional Referral Hospital. The practice now serves over 250 veterinarians in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia for referral surgery.
Formal education:
- University of Georgia
- North Carolina State University, BS in Zoology, 1975
- Auburn University, DVM 1980
- Informal Internship at Grady Veterinary Hospital, Cincinnati, OH
- Auburn University, MS 1985
Dr. Newman is a strong advocate of Continuing Education.
His service in this area includes:
- Five years as the Director of the Southeastern Veterinary Surgeon’s Conference
- Five years as President of the Alabama Academy of Veterinary Practitioners
- Assisted with Continuing Education Programming for the Alabama Veterinary Medical Association until 2009
- Developed the annual Tennessee Valley Conference in Florence, Alabama
From 2013 to 2017 Dr. Newman served as an elected member of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Board of Directors and represented the Third District of the United States. His representation included North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
- Promoted veterinary research and development of veterinary careers in research
- International work involving veterinary medicine, especially in third world countries
- Antimicrobial resistance nad the use of antibiotics in all animals
- Improvement in student financial issues including education costs
- Improving mentoring of new graduates into the veterinary profession
Other Notable Achievements:
- Served in all positions of the Alabama Veterinary Medical Association concluding with the Presidency in 2008-9
- Vice-President on the original Board of the Alabama Veterinary Medical Foundation until 2006
- Head of the Alabama Animal Hall of Fame for 4 years and saw 12 animals duly inducted
- Member of Mid-State Veterinary Medical Association (prior)
- Member of Jefferson County Veterinary Medical Association (prior)
- Member of North Alabama Veterinary Medical Association
- Member of Madison County Veterinary Medical Association
- Represented the ALVMA at the accreditation site visit for the Snead State Community College’s Veterinary
- Technology Program in 2001
- Served on the Board of the Jefferson State Community College’s Veterinary Technology Program
- Elected to Council on Research fo the American Veterinary Medical Association for 9 years
- Represented the AVMA on the National Research Council’s Workshop for “National Needs in Veterinary Science” in 2004
- Participated in the Foresight meeting of the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) in Kansas City in 2006
- Sponsor and member of the AAVMC’s NAVMEC meeting in Kansas City and Las Vegas in 2010
- Represented the AVMA to the ARS/NIFA Workshop for Research Priorities in Baltimore 2011
- Presented to the President’s Council of Advisors in Science and Technology (PCAST) in Washington, DC 2011
- Represented the AVMA to the Farm Animal Integrated Research (FAIR) in Arlington, VA in 2012
- Liason for the AVMA to the Coalition for Farm and Agricultural Research (NCFAR)
